The exhibition is entitled The Sly And Unseen Day. Shaw paints pictures from his youth growing up on a housing estate in Coventry. He uses Humbrol paints which are more normally associated with the painting of airfix model kits which many young boys will remember from the 1970s.

His pictures are devoid of people and I find them strangely haunting and reminiscent of my own youth. I have heard it suggested that Shaw’s pallet is predetermined by the set colours of the paint. I doubt that he mixed the paint. Up close the effect is almost metallic and each brick in a brick wall seems individually to spring out of the canvas. His control of light is excellent and shows up in the shadows of trees cast on buildings and the reflections from large rain puddles.

The gallery is an impressive old building on Peckham Road, admittance is free but they request donations. I found it easy enough to park in a side road.

The South London Gallery

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Green Rose by Nigel Chaloner

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I have been trying to get to see work by an artist named George Shaw. It seems I missed him again as he had an exhibition in London in the spring this year. He is an artist who paints scenes from his childhood on a housing estate in Coventry. I’ve never seen the paintings but, apparently he uses Humbrol paint which is more commonly used to paint plastic model kits.

I find his work sort of haunting and reminiscent of my youth. The images are devoid of humanity or very much evidence that humanity has been present except for the buildings themselves.